Zé Rafael criticises Santos board, vows to stay well away after exit | OneFootball

Zé Rafael criticised the Santos board in a social media comment after ending his contract in late July, shortly before being unveiled by Alverca on Monday 24.

According to Diario Do Peixe, he replied to a supporter on Instagram who accused him of taking the club’s money, saying he was barely paid, trained and honoured his contract while the club did not, went months without wages, chose to leave, and that he would stay well away without any nostalgia. He later deleted the message.

Out of the coaching staff’s plans, he was separated from the squad by the football department after the World Cup break. The board proposed an amicable termination, which he accepted. He had signed last year on a deal running to December 2027 and moved quickly as he searched for a new club.

Signed in February last year, Santos paid R$ 15 million to Palmeiras for him, and he required back surgery before a delayed debut. Last season he made 28 appearances, including one in the Copa do Brasil, and scored against Corinthians in the Brasileiro.

This year he struggled for fitness, dealing with conjunctivitis, tendinitis, oedema in his right thigh and an ankle sprain. He recorded one goal and one assist in 12 matches, with one Copa do Brasil outing against Coritiba at Vila and minutes in the Sudamericana away to Cuenca. He also had five Paulistão games and five in the Brasileiro, assisting against Chapecoense and scoring against São Paulo before late cameos versus Vasco, Flamengo and Palmeiras.

Born in Ponta Grossa, he is 33 and began at Coritiba, with loans to Novo Hamburgo and Londrina, before permanent moves to Bahia and Palmeiras, then Santos.

Source: Diario Do Peixe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”